I have a confession to make: Although I have a deep appreciation of all things musical there’s one genre that I always come back to… metal. Proper metal. Played by…

I have a confession to make: Although I have a deep appreciation of all things musical there’s one genre that I always come back to… metal. Proper metal. Played by angry men with pointy guitars and beards; I was raised on classic rock (Led Zep, Sabbath, Deep Purple etc) and from there I spent my teens exploring the heavier end of the musical spectrum – I went through thrash metal (early Metallica/Megadeth), briefly delved into death metal (Carcass, Opeth, Children of Bodom) and even a had dubious metalcore phase before finding a handful of bands that made the sort of noise that really appealed to me…

One of those bands is Meshuggah.

This track caught my attention because it clearly highlights one of the band’s trademark writing techniques; the interwebs are littered with people asking ‘What time signature is this Meshuggah tune in?’. Whilst the majority of Meshuggah’s compositions sound as if they’re in odd time signatures the vast majority are in 4/4 – it just seems that the guitars have a healthy disregard for bar lines…

Djently Does It

The intro of ‘Do Not Look Down’ comprises of a unison guitar/bass figure that lasts for 17 quavers (or their equivalent) before repeating. When played over a drum part that in 4/4 this creates a shifting rhythmic effect where the accent at the start of the figure emphasises a different point in the bar each time it repeats.

The accent first falls on beat 1, then the ‘and’ of 1, then beat 2 etc. After 7 cycles we’re back to starting on beat 1 again. This could also be written as alternating bars of 4/4 and 9/8, or in the horrendous meter of 17/8, but what we’re really hearing is the effect of two different time signatures being played at the same time (i.e. polymetric playing)

The main purpose of this post is to highlight the concept of using polymetric devices to add a new dimension to compositions. This idea could easily be adapted to create basslines that use odd groupings of quavers (e.g. 5, 7 or 9) to create rhythmic tension when played over a drum part in 4/4.

This post is concerned with an aspect of being a musician that is often neglected – health. Before I get started let’s get the common sense health & safety stuff…

This post is concerned with an aspect of being a musician that is often neglected – health.

Before I get started let’s get the common sense health & safety stuff out of the way:

Disclaimer #1: The opinions expressed in this post are a result of personal experience and are simply an account of a particular diet/exercise/practice regime that works for me. This may not apply to all readers of this post.

Disclaimer #2: I am not a doctor or a nutritionist. Always consult an appropriately qualified health practitioner before making any significant lifestyle changes.

I spent a lot of time this week thinking about my own health & wellbeing. I began to feel unwell after a gig and then spent the following 3 days in bed with some sort of miscellaneous food poisoning/manflu affliction. Then this morning I read this excellent post on NoTreble which serves as a good primer on nutrition for the gigging bassist (it is, of course, more relevant to US readers – I’m yet to find a service station on the M1 that offers a turkey hoagie or a Philly cheese steak…).

Here’s the thing: working as a musician often involves being active for long periods of time, often at extremely antisocial hours and in locations where it’s difficult (if not impossible) to get hold of anything apart from junk food. In order to sustain energy levels, it’s vital that we give our bodies the correct fuel to run on. Otherwise, we run the risk of losing concentration on the gig, dropping a few notes, forgetting the form, botching an arranged ending to a tune, getting cranky with bandmates during load-out and nearly falling asleep at the wheel on the drive home… Sound familiar?

About a year ago I was introduced to Tim Ferriss’ book ‘The 4-Hour Body’ by a friend who said he thought it would be “my sort of thing…”. Turns out he was right. Here’s the tome in question:

Firstly, I’m aware that this is a very silly book. Much of the content is aimed squarely at the testosterone-driven teenage boy that lurks within every grown man. However, if you skip past the sensationalist marketing tripe and pick out the advice that can realistically be adopted by most ‘regular’ folk then there’s actually some incredible, life-altering stuff in there.

The main thing I got from ‘The 4-Hour Body’ is my current diet, which gives me everything I need to cope with the often hectic and unpredictable lifestyle that I lead. Food, along with music, is one of my chief obsessions, and taking on Ferriss’ nutritional advice has helped me to get a much better insight into how what I put into my body affects me.

So, what do I eat? It’s actually more constructive to list the foods that I DON’T eat:

Bread

Pasta

Potatoes (no crisps, no chips!)

Cereals

Rice

Tortillas/wraps

Fruit/fruit juice (except tomatoes and avocados)

Soft drinks

Beer

For a more detailed overview and explanation of the so-called ‘Slow-Carb Diet’ (as well as the infamous ‘cheat day’) there’s a book extract here

“But what does all this have to do with music?!” Good question.

I found that once I’d given up ‘white’ carbs (particularly anything bread-related) that my energy levels become much more consistent throughout the day – I stopped getting post-meal energy slumps and my blood sugar levels became far more consistent. This means that I can get through long days that involve practice, rehearsals, traveling to/from gigs, lugging gear around and writing voluminous blog posts much better than before.

I’m not suggesting that you all should rush out and buy a copy of the 4-Hour Body, renounce bread and embrace lentils. What I’m advocating is taking the time to reflect on what you’re putting into your body and how that might be affecting your energy levels (not to mention your concentration, productivity, relationships, sleep and physical appearance…). A lot of guys (and girls) that I regularly work with don’t seem to give any thought to nutrition and consequently often wonder why they don’t feel great when all they’ve consumed is a packet of crisps and a can of red bull…

On a practical level this means avoiding stuff like this when you’ve pulled into a service station at 1am on the way back from a gig:

It’s been shamefully long since I posted anything on here or added any new transcriptions to the archive, so apologies to those of you who have worked through the charts…

It’s been shamefully long since I posted anything on here or added any new transcriptions to the archive, so apologies to those of you who have worked through the charts I’ve already posted and are itching for something new. More transcriptions will be uploaded soon, I PROMISE!

Part of the reason that I’ve been slack on the blog front is that I’ve spent the last 4 months having curvature added to my spine through traction in order to avoid needing some fairly serious surgery in the next decade (and yes, having your spine reshaped is about as much fun as it sounds…).

For those that are curious, here’s how things look now:

See that? 43 degrees of lumbar curvature. Beautiful.

I’ll try and get a new transcription up by next week, but in the meantime here’s some footage of a recent gig that was shot in St.Pancras International station. I was helping out good friends Felix Fables while their regular bassist was otherwise indisposed. The bass of choice for this was my trusty ’80s P bass (which was the star of this earlier post) strung with D’Addario nylon tapewounds.

Steely Dan’s classic album Aja is one of the cds that permanently stays in my glovebox – there’s something about the tunes that make it ideal listening for driving home…

Steely Dan’s classic album Aja is one of the cds that permanently stays in my glovebox – there’s something about the tunes that make it ideal listening for driving home from gigs and trying not to fall asleep when you’re on the M25 at 2am…

One of my favourite moments on this record is Bernard Purdie’s playing on ‘Home At Last’, which features some serious shuffle groove. Here’s the man himself explaining (or, more accurately, ‘splaining) the Purdie Shuffle.

If I ever find myself in a bad mood, I watch some Bernard Purdie. The man is a comedy genius.